write on the check, relief effort. these people are the doing the work that seems to come about in our country when bad things happen to good people. i hope the president gets a look at these efforts when he's thereupon in the new york area tomorrow. that's "hardball" for now. thanks for being with us. "the ed show" with ed schultz starts right now. good evening, americans, and welcome to "the ed show," from new york. president obama went to bat for the middle class today and mitt romney is still beating up the 47%. this is "the ed show." let's get to work. >> with respect to the issue of mandate, i've got one mandate. i've got a mandate to help middle class families and families that are working hard to try to get -- that's my mandate. >> the president draws a line in the sand for the middle class. >> the only question now is, are we going to hold the middle class hostage? >> and gets as angry as you will ever see him taking on an old bitter foe.

>> if senator mccain and senator graham and others want to go after somebody, they should go after me. >> tonight, congressman tim ryan of ohio on the president's middle class rallying cry. jonathan alter on the epic throwdown with john mccain. plus, the new senator even nate silver didn't see coming. >> we missed the north dakota senate -- >> yes, you did! >> heidi hitekamp joins me for an exclusive interview. and republicans in ohio haven't learned anything. tonight, state senator nina turner on today's republican vote to defund planned parenthood. good to have you with us tonight, folks. thanks for watching. absent of arrogance, president obama continued his fight for the middle class today and hit back at republican bullies in the process. the president held his first news conference since winning the presidency once again. it's the first time he's faced the news media without the worry or pressure of running for

re-election. president obama is staying in constant communication with the american public, as he makes it clear the country cannot afford to extend the bush tax cuts for the wealthy. >> this shouldn't be a surprise to anybody. this was -- if there was one thing that everybody understood, it was a big difference between myself and mr. romney, it was when it comes to how we reduce our deficit, i argued for a balanced, responsible approach, and part of that included making sure that the wealthiest americans pay a little bit more. >> the president's plan, with this whole game, with all the cards out in the open and on the table. you know what, think about this. the president could have said, you know, i don't want to do that. i think i'm going to cave in today. he don't have to worry about anything. he's not up for re-election. he played with heart today.

this is the guy you voted for. this is the guy who said all tloong that he would fight for the middle class and that is exactly what he's doing first press conference. he's asking for $1.6 trillion in new revenue. and the public is okay with his approach. >> more voters agreed with me on this issue than voted for me. so we've got a clear majority of the american people who recognize if we're going to be serious about deficit reduction, we've got to do it in a balanced way. the only question now is, are we going to hold the middle class hostage in order to go ahead and let that happen? >> president obama continues to demand house republicans pass a bill, extending the tax cuts for 98% of americans and do it, you know, right now. wouldn't that be good for the economy? the president is open to compromise, but he's not going to give away the store, not this year. he learned his lessons back in the lame duck session of

congress, 2011. so today he openly rejected the mitt romney, john boehner solution for tax reform. >> what i will not do is to have a process that is vague, that says we're going to sort of, kind of raise revenue through dynamic scoring or closing loopholes that have not been identified. and the reason i won't do that is because i don't want to find ourselves in a position six months from now or a year from now, where lo and behold, the only way to close the deficit is to sock it to middle class families. >> now, that is the classiest way i have ever seen anybody say, you know what, somebody's got to pick up the bar tab, boys. this is what president obama ran against in the presidential election. mitt romney's approach to tax reform was, trust me. the american public wanted specifics. and president obama continued to give specifics today, but the economy wasn't the only thing on

the president's mind today. earlier in the day, here's another development. ambassador to the united nations, susan rice came under fire from republican senators. senators john mccain and lindsey graham, back at it, trying to trump up the ambassador's role in the benghazi consulate attacks. they took their shots at ambassador rice this morning and the president hit back. >> senator mccain and senator graham and others want to go after somebody, they should go after me. and i'm happy to have that discussion with them. but for them to go after the u.n. ambassador, who had nothing to do with benghazi, and was simply making a presentation based on intelligence that she had received, and to besmirch her reputation is outrageous. >> that's loyalty to a staff member. if looks could kill, the president's look would be a cruise missile. it was the most sustained anger, i think it will be the most

sustained anger that we have seen and will see coming from this president in a display in a television news conference. now, there is no evidence the ambassador did anything wrong, regarding the benghazi attacks. president obama is not about to let a member of his administration get dragged through the mud by the righties. he was also very calculating about his take on the scandal surrounding former cia chief, david petraeus. >> i am withholding judgment, with respect to how the entire process surrounding general petraeus came up. it is also possible that had we been told, then you'd be sitting here asking a question about why were you interfering in a criminal investigation. so i think it's best right now for us to just see how this whole process unfolded. >> the president also showed the kind of leverage he has on immigration reform. he emphasized latino voter turnout and the pressure being

put on republicans to reach a bipartisan agreement. >> before the election, i had given a couple of interviews, where i had predicted that the latino vote was going to be strong, and that that would cause some reflection on the part of republicans, about their position on immigration reform. i think we're starting to see that already. i think that's a positive sign. >> fresh off the campaign trail, i guess it's full steam ahead for the president's second term. he knows the work is not over on immigration. that, of course, is going to be a big issue in 2013. climate change came up today, which, of course, is very important to the economy. and the economy itself. president obama needs to maintain the support of the american people. he's going on the road and i love it. at one point today, the president was asked, you got a mandate? his answer told you everything you need to know about where the president expects his second term to go. >> with respect to the issue of mandate, i've got one mandate. i've got a mandate to help middle class families and families that are working hard to try to get in the middle

class. that's my mandate. that's what the american people said. they said, work really hard to help us. don't worry about the politics of it. don't worry about the party interests, don't worry about the special interests. just work really hard to see if you can help us get ahead, because we're working really hard out here and we're still struggling, a lot of us. that's my mandate. >> the president already said the bush tax cuts for the rich will expire. he's already said that the tax cuts for 98% of americans must be extended. now, who could be against that? you can just do the math and see that if they extend the tax cuts for 98% of americans, the economy has a chance of moving forward, as it is right now. the ball is in the hands of the republicans, isn't it? we're going to find early on if they want to play obstruction all over again. the president is basically daring them to defy his mandate. i kind of hope they do, but i

kind of really -- you know, i think they will. i don't think they want a deal. they'll talk about it, but i don't believe that they want the deal. get your cell phones out. i want to know what you think. tonight's question, do you trust republicans to protect the middle class tax cuts? text "a" for yes, text "b" for no to 622639. joining me tonight is ohio congressman, tim ryan. great to have you with us tonight. >> great to be with you, ed. >> are we seeing a different negotiator evolve here after the election? knowing that he really doesn't have to be beholden to anybody, because he's not up for re-election. this is what he ran on, which is what he talked about today. how energized are you and maybe some other democrats in the house when you see that? >> i was just thrilled today. i think this is the most presidential he's ever looked. he was strong, he looked like a leader. you get into these campaigns and they're very enthusiastic, but when you get into the process of governing, there needs to be this slow-burning intensity in

order to push your things through. and he had that today and i think he showed some real leadership. and i think it has something to do with the campaign trail, i think it has something to do with the hurricane, where he really got down on the ground with the people that were hurt so badly by the hurricane. and he really got reconnected and you can see it now. he knows who he's fighting for and he's doing it in a way really only that he can do in that magical barack obama way. >> congressmen, collectively, do you think the democrats believe that the republicans will do a deal? >> you know, we're skeptical. i mean, i'm trying to figure out which republican could vote for an increase in taxes, even on millionaires and still not think they've got to go back home and get primaried by some tea party radical. and that's really the calculation. that's the struggle that john boehner's having right now. but it will further define the

republican party. and if they can't come to grips with a balanced deal, where you're asking the wealthiest in the country, who have made so much money over the last decade, then that really shows what kind of party they are. and this is about the values that we hold as americans, ed. this is not about numbers. this is about values. >> well, you know, when you look at the way this is setting up, this has got a lot of 2014 talk to it already. i mean, these republicans are going to have to go home and explain, well, i couldn't go along with the tax cuts for the 98% of americans. that would put them against the middle class, wouldn't it? >> yeah. i mean, imagine on friday, when they're all sitting around the table, and the president says, hey, fellas, you know, you're going to be responsible for raising taxes on middle class americans.

and if you fail to agree to this top 1% or top 2% tax increase that we're asking for, you go out. the microphones are in the driveway on the way out of here. you go explain to the american people why they're going to pay more in taxes. >> now, you just mentioned just a moment ago that you thought the president was well connected. that he was re-conducted, best he's ever been. president obama read a letter from a tennessee voter today, who did not support it in this election cycle. but had a message for all politicians in the wake of this election. here it is. >> my hope, he wrote, is that we can make progress in light of personal and party principles, special interest groups, and years of business as usual. we've got to work together and put our differences aside. i couldn't say it better myself. >> i mean, republicans, are they, in congress, selling themselves on cooperation? >> well, you know how this goes, ed. they talk to each other. it's their own little group and they keep talking to each other and they turn on fox news and they get that regurgitated and they turn on the business channels and they get that regurgitated, and they all think

they're right. and they don't stick their heads out of the window. you got really tea party republicans coming out of southern states who said, there was no mandate for change in this election. well, yeah, of course not in your congressional district, you got 80% in the conservative republican district. get your head out of the sand, look at what's going on in the rest of the world, and realize you don't always get your way in life. i don't know how these guys, what relationships they have with other human beings, but there are no relationships i've ever been in or anybody i've ever met where there isn't some compromise. so why would you come to the united states congress, representing millions of people, and you think you're going to get your way 100% of the time? it just doesn't make any sense, and that's why the president has got to be so intense and so firm and stick to his guns here. and i think he's going to do it, and let them collapse. let them fold. >> quickly, congressman, 50/50 on a deal, 60/40. >> i don't know. >> the fact that you can't call it like that after what we've seen speaks volume. you've got your pulse of your colleagues in the congress. that just tells me that this president has toe keep moving

forward with the wind at his back and the people at his back. that's why labor yesterday was talking about doing rallies and getting into the backyards of these righties, and telling them, this is the way it's got to go for me to save the treasury. >> absolutely. trumpka's great, he's a great leader. and now we see the business leaders come online too, to say, hey, come on, guys. get with the program here. there's something bigger than just your own political career at stake here. >> congressman tim ryan of ohio, thanks for being here. >> always a pleasure. >> remember to answer tonight's question at the bottom of the screen. share your thoughts on facebook and twitter. coming up, john mccain is leading the attack on u.n. ambassador susan rice. well, president obama had a few words for mccain this afternoon. jonathan alter will weigh in. stay with us. we are right back.

coming up, the president gets after john mccain and smacks him down because of his attack on susan rice.

these two stories have a history. these two people have a history. we'll discuss it with jonathan alter, next. mitt romney's first remarks following his big loss last week are a total confirmation of everything we saw on his 47% tape. he says the president won re-election by giving big gifts to minorities and to young voters. full details, coming up. and for some reason, ohio republicans, they just didn't get the memo. today they continued their war on women with a vote to defund planned parenthood. they have more radical legislation in the works. ohio state senator nina turner is here to respond. share your thoughts with us on facebook and on twitter using #edshow. we're coming right back.

welcome back to "the ed show." thanks for staying with us tonight. senator john mccain is leading a preemptive strike to keep u.n. ambassador susan rice from being nominated for secretary of state. rice's name has been floated as a possible replacement for secretary hillary clinton. but mccain says he's convinced that rice is part of an obama administration cover-up over the attack on the u.s. consulate in benghazi. mccain articulated his theory this morning, pledging to do everything he can to stop rice's nomination from moving forward. >> susan rice should have been known better, and if she didn't know better, she's not qualified. she would have known better. i will do everything in my power to block her from being the united states secretary of state. she has proven that she either doesn't understand or she is not

willing to accept evidence on its face. >> and of course, mccain has enlisted reinforcements. here's comes senator lindsey graham of south carolina who is also questioning rice's credibility. >> i don't trust. the reason i don't trust her, because i think she knew better, and if she doesn't know better, she shouldn't be the voice of america. >> this afternoon, the president smack them both down. >> when they go after the u.n. ambassador, apparently because they think she's an easy target, then they've got a problem with me. >> today's repudiation of mccain's politicking is just the latest installation in what has been a contentious history between the president and the senator from arizona, leading all the way back to the last presidential campaign, when mccain announced that he was suspending his campaign to try to solve the fiscal crisis in this country and avoid a presidential debate. obama needled him with this response. >> it's my belief that this is exactly the time when the american people need to hear

from the person who in approximately 40 days will be responsible for dealing with this mess. and i think that it is going to be part of the president's job to deal with more than one thing at once. >> after mccain joked about going to war with iran, by turning it into a beach boys song, president obama hit him back with this. >> john, you're absolutely right that presidents have to be prudent in what they say. but, you know, coming from you who have, you know, in the past have threatened extinction for north korea and, you know, sung songs about bombing iran, i don't know how credible that is. >> then there was this exchange over al qaeda. >> i have some news. al qaeda is in iraq. al qaeda, it's called al qaeda in iraq. >> i have some news for john

mccain. and that is that there was no such thing as al qaeda in iraq until george bush and john mccain decided to invade iraq. >> and when senator obama became president obama, the partisan rhetoric didn't stop there. mccain abandoned the idea of becoming an elder statesmen, a key republican ally, who could help broker deals and move the country forward. instead, he has constantly undermined the president and his policies. back in 2010, mccain had a list of complaints over health care reform. one of his issues, the negotiations were not being broadcast on c-span. here's the president responding. >> let me just a make this point, john. because we're not campaigning anymore. the election's over. >> i'm reminded of that every day. >> well, yeah. >> let's bring in jonathan alter, msnbc political analyst and columnist for bloomberg view. jonathan, i don't think the two like each other.

good to have you with us tonight. but it just seems that john mccain is looking for any opening he possibly can to make problems for the president and the country. your take on it? >> well, the reason the president was so ticked in the press conference today is he learned just before the press conference, i hear from the white house, that, you know, john mccain and lindsey graham were intending to filibuster susan rice if she should be nominated as secretary of state. and that really angered the president. and one reason why, which i don't think is enormously understood, is it's hypocritical, if you turn back the clock to when condoleezza rice was taking all kinds of heat before she was nominated to be george bush's secretary of state, because she had fallen for this faulty intelligence on iraq. remember when she talking about the mushroom cloud in iraq and all this, because she had believed the cia. so all that susan rice has done

is believe the cia. that's her own only sin in this entire thing. and so for mccain to say he's going to filibuster her for something that he and then senator obama defended condoleezza rice on, is really hypocritical and really annoying to the president. because she was doing exactly what mitt romney did. you'll notice in the third debate, mitt romney did not bring up benghazi. why? he was given an opportunity by bob schieffer. he didn't because he had just gotten a classified briefing from the cia that told him what everybody who has got an classified briefing knows. which is that it was cia's fault that they didn't get intelligence faster on what happened in benghazi. it was not at all susan rice's fault. >> well, the president said today that the congress had the same information that susan rice had. >> exactly. >> but john mccain was out there blabbing this morning, saying that they should have known

better. as if she doesn't have good enough judgment to be in this position or to be even considered for it. i mean, how much of a slap in the face is that? >> well, it's really discouraging that senator mccain, who, you know, in the past, i think, has had really wide respect on both sides of the aisle, that he would be doing this. it was easy to say, when he was running against a right-winger in 2010, in the primary, oh, he has to, you know, deport his principles over the border on immigration or other things in order to get re-elected. people in washington understand that. but he's now safely re-elected. so the only reason he's doing this is out of personal pique or some over cranky motive and he just needs to give it up. and lindsey graham needs to give it up too. and they need to suck it up and start to work across the aisle like they have in the past, and show some basic respect for the president of the united states. >> i mean, this is the first shot over the bow, as to how the

next congress is going to feel about one another. i mean, do you think mccain and graham would have the troops to stop her if she does, and the president says today he hasn't made that determination yet, whether he's going to nominate her or not. do you think they have the chops to do that? >> sure. in the senate, it only takes a couple of people to filibuster. and then there aren't the 60 votes. and if they go through with this, if they don't back down, it will be hard for her to get confirmed. that's the reality of the u.s. senate. so it seems to me and i think a lot of other people that the president and senator mccain need to get together, you know, not have a beer summit, maybe drink something harder, and, you know, try to work this out and establish some kind of relationship on behalf of the american public. >> mccain has not shown any interest to work anything out with the president, and i think we can hold our breath on this one. thank you, jonathan alter. great to have you us with tonight. >> thanks, ed. next up, mitt romney talks to big money donors and doubles down on his talk of the nation's

47%. and then the rps never dreamed that they would end up seeing this. the new class of women has arrived on capitol hill. we'll talk to one of the new senators who fourgt one of the toughest races in the nation and won on the prairie.

welcome backed to ed show. thanks for staying with us tonight. president obama wasn't the only one speaking out today.

the mr. mitt romney held a conference call with his high-dollar donors. romney seemed to double down on his 47% comments. romney said the president won by following the old playbook and giving gifts to, quote, the african-american community, the hispanic community, and young people. the former candidate went on to say this. "with regards to the young people, for instance, a forgiveness of college loan interest was a big gift. free contraceptives were very big with young college-aged women. and then finally, obama care also made a difference for them because, as you know, anybody now 26 years of age and younger was now going to be part of their parent's plan, and that was a big gift too to young people." for more, let's turn to john nichols, washington correspondent of "the nation" magazine and author of the book "uprising." it doesn't sound like mitt romney has learned anything in the last week.

>> the interesting thing is that back in october, when he was really getting a hard time for the 47%, he went on fox and he said, i was totally wrong. well, it turns out he was lying to fox, of all people. because the fact is, this goes deeper. this is actually not just saying there's 47% that relies on government. he's actually saying that young people, people of color in this country, working folks can be bribed with contraception, to make their -- they do their total vote on -- >> what do you think he was saying, referring to them as gifts? when the people of this country voted for the president, when he said he was going to reform health care, and the voters in the senate and house of representatives went along with it to pass something. how can that with a gift? >> well, it's not a gift. this is government. and unfortunately, it seems to me that mitt romney has been listening not to conservative media, but to the fringe of the right wing. the people who actually think this country is divided into makers and takers.

now, that's a big paul ryan line. and this is a fantasy. the fact of the matter is, we have a government in this country that does some things. and most of what mitt romney's objecting to is government. >> was there a racial component here? and i ask that question, because mitt romney is talking about giving more tax breaks to the wealthiest americans, but president obama can't have a plan for young people or african-americans or hispanics? how else do you read it? >> well, it's the same -- look, paul ryan did an interview just this week where he was talking about the urban areas voting in a certain way. and it seems that this is the fantasy, the delusion that they've decided to carry on. that they didn't lose because their ideas were bad, day didn't lose because they made mistakes. in fact, in this call, mitt romney complimented his campaign. they lost because somehow the 47% was given so many gifts that it grew into 51%. >> does it make it harder for the republican party to patch up

their image and their vision for the future when they are going to be dogged by comments like this, as to why they lost the last presidential election? it's not inclusive. how do they repair that? >> we have republican chairmans across the country sending out memos saying, we've got to start to reach out to hispanics and the african-american community, we've got to connect with young people. and here you have their immediate former candidate talking to the big dollar donors, people that gave them $900 million, and saying, nothing, our ideas are great. we just got outbribed. that's ridiculous. >> john nichols, great to have you with us tonight. thanks so much. there's a lot more coming up in the next half hour of "the ed show." stay right with us. >> in my own personal experience, it was very important for me to elect young women and encourage people to come. and when they come here, to give them opportunity to serve. >> 2012 is the year of the woman in congress. tonight, north dakota's first female senator heidi hitekamp joins me exclusively.

does barack obama now have a mandate? >> i don't think so, because they also re-elected the house republicans. >> the mandate deniers are living in a bubble. we'll lay out the facts. and eight days after getting thumped at the polls, ohio republicans are already trying to defund planned parenthood. state senator nina turner is here tonight and she's standing up for women. . and you pick the price that works for you. great. whoa, whoa, jamie. watch where you point that thing. [ mocking ] "watch where you point that thing." you point yours, i point mine. okay, l-let's stay calm. [ all shouting ] put it down! be cool!

everybody, just be cool! does it price better on the side? no, it just looks cooler. the name your price tool, only from progressive. call or click today. i got you covered. thank you. oh, you're so welcome.

a picture is worth a thousand words. that's what they say. i said then and i say now that this picture before you is worth millions of votes. millions of votes. >> and we are back. today representative nancy pelosi said she'll serve as house democratic leader for two

more years. she actually hummed the song "hallelujah" as the women of the incoming 113th congress joined her for the news conference. this is a record-breaking group, my friends. there was barely room on the platform for all of them to show up and be a part of it. pelosi will be joined by 80 other women in the u.s. house of representatives. 20 women will serve in the united states senate. it's a diverse group of women who probably won't agree on every issue. their success socked the republicans, no doubt about it. senate democrats were the underdogs in the election cycle, especially in the great state of north dakota, the prairie. republicans counted on congressman rick burg to defeat heidi heitkamp. didn't happen. they were wrong. and one of the nation's most accurate forecasters got it wrong as well. >> we missed the north dakota senate race. >> yes, you did. you said that republican rick

burg would win. he lost. >> he lost. >> foerp north dakota attorney general heidi heitkamp narrowly defeated rick burg by 3,000 photos. she won by less than 1% in the state where most people voted for mitt romney. in fact, 59% of the folks in north dakota voted for mitt romney. it will be interesting to see how new senator-elect heitkamp will represent her historically red state. we'll ask her right now. let's turn to north dakota senator-elect heidi heitkamp. heidi, congratulations on the big win and i can tell you here on the east coast, everybody is saying, how in the world did a democrat win in north dakota? so i've got to ask you, you know, the cultural issues, guns, gays, and god, the g-word, how did you cut through all of that and get a victory? >> i think the most important thing is to understand what north dakotans really care about. they care about a farm bill, they care about energy policy. but, ed, mainly day care about people who know how to get things done.

it's no different than anything you've been hearing all across the country. the american public is tired of the partisan bickering, they are tired of all of the back and forth. they want solutions to these problems. and that's our job. and i think they thought i'd deliver the solutions. >> okay, solution. tax cuts. would you go for getting rid of the bush tax cuts and taxing the top 2%, just what the president said today. can you go along with that? >> you know, we've been talking a lot, and you know me, i've spent a fair amount of my political life and my public life working in the tax area. my big concern is the difference between earned and unearned income. and i say this every time. i say, the bob cat worker in north dakota pays a higher tax rate than paris hilton, because she doesn't earn her income. she just lets her money make her money. and we need to figure out a way to equalize those rates. maybe not make them identical, but to equalize them.

because this tax structure, when mitt romney pays 15% and the average american, middle class family, pays much higher, there is something wrong with the tax code. and that needs to be fixed. >> what about going back to the old rates? going back to the wealthiest americans, paying almost 40%. what about that? >> i think that, you know, you need to take a look at on what kind of income. to me the discussion is more about rates. it's about what do we apply those rates to and how do we equalize people who make a lot of money on exhale gains versus people who go to work every day and help this economy grow. >> you know, i was back home. i saw the commercials. president obama's not the most popular guy on the prairie. and they were really going after him on obama care. how did you get around that and get the victory. what did you say about obama care? >> well, as you know, i'm a breast cancer survivor. and i simply sent a message that, you know, i'd never take away seniors' health care or anyone's health care. there's good and bad in the health care law, and we need to fix the bad parts and keep the

good parts. and basically, a lot of people thought you should just run away from it. and i said, wait a minute, there's some really good things in obama care. there's some really good things about the health care law. there are some things that need to be fixed. why can't we just sit down and fix the bad and keep good and move on? health care is way too important to politicize it, the way it's been politicized for the last four years. >> what advice would you give to the president right now, after today's press conference, moving forward, trying to fight through the obstruction that we can anticipate from the republicans, if it's anything like the last session of congress. >> well, i thought the president was right when he said, you know, what's his mandate. his mandate is to help working class folks. is to help move this country forward and start getting some jobs and real economic development in our country, so that we can get people back to work. and i think it so sounds like those are his priorities. obviously, we have a lot of discussions forward on energy policy and we -- >> i was going to ask you about that.

about energy policy. i know oil is huge in north dakota, no doubt. what about the pipeline? would you support it? the keystone? >> i've always supported the keystone pipeline. i think the president's going to approve it. but that's just one part of a good energy policy. the problem we have, ed, is you have people on the right who say it's all about fossil fuels. and there are people on the left who say, it's all about renewables. but if we were going to have energy independence and really grow our economy, we need to use both and we need to figure out how we're going to transport that energy from smart grids, electrical smart grids, to pipelines, to rail, whatever it takes to get this economy back moving. >> heidi, you are an unspoiled person and this is going to be a tough lift because of the litmus test that takes place in washington from time to time. i hope you can cut through it all and do deals for the people of north dakota and the country. it's going to be interesting to see. i have to ask you, if you were going to compare yourself to a senator, in thinking alike, who would it be? >> it would be kent conrad. that's no surprise to you.

kent and i have been friends for a long time. he encouraged me to make this run. he cares about the deficit like no one cares about the deficit in this country. i intend to pick up that mantle and deal with the farm bill and energy policy and help our state become successful. >> former tax commissioner, former attorney general, mom, survivor of cancer. you've got quite a resume. heidi, good luck to you. thank you. >> thanks, ed. >> you bet. >> and she's a friend of mine. you can tell. coming up, republicans just can't handle the truth. but the people have spoken. i'll show the fact deniers, just what this year's election results really mean. and as we head to break, one of the great harbingers of the holiday season has arrived here at 30 rock in new york city. rockefeller center. it's an 80-footer, folks. it's a norway, all the way from the great state of new jersey. and seeing that i have some producers on staff from new jersey, i can call it a great state. 'tis the season.

you're watching "the ed show" on msnbc. stay with us.

and we always love hearing from our viewers on twitter ade edshow and on our facebook tonight. tonight, many of you are applauding the president's defense of u.n. ambassador susan rice. hank melton says, "why are gop men always picking on democratic women like susan rice. this makes the gop appear very weak." and denise thinks senators graham and mccain are still smarting over the 2008 loss to the president. share your thoughts with us on @edshow. do that, please. still to come, republicans try to deny it, but president obama won a clear mandate in the election. we'll have all the details next. stay with us.

it's like earning capital. you asked, do i feel free? let me put it to you this way, i earned capital in the campaign, political capital. and now i intend to spend it.

>> the good old days. president george w. bush flaunting his political capital at a press conference just two days after his re-election in 2004. since last tuesday, republicans have been making the rounds, denying president obama earned a mandate from voters in america. for instance, former vice presidential candidate and frequent rewriter of american industry, congressman paul ryan of wisconsin, rejected the notion that his party's ideas lost by making the claim the election was too close. but the fact is, president obama won a mandate, a larger mandate than john f. kennedy in 1960 or richard nixon in 1968, or jimmy carter in 1976. he wasn't that old. and definitely larger than george w. bush in 2000 and w. in 2004. president obama won the popular vote by 2.9%, added seats in the senate, and added seats in the house. my friends, that's a mandate. it should come as no surprise, republicans are once again ignoring the facts, it's what

they do, isn't it? but no matter what they try, how they try to spin it, the numbers just don't lie. when president obama was asked if he felt like he had a mandate, this is how he responded. >> i've got one mandate. i've got a mandate to help middle class families and families that are working hard to try to get in the middle class. that's my mandate. that's what the american people said. they said, work really hard to help us. don't worry about the politics of it. don't worry about the party interests, don't worry about the special interests. just work really hard to see if you can help us get ahead. because we're working really hard out here and we're still struggling, a lot of us. that's my mandate. >> and that is not a president boasting about political capital. there is a completely absence of arrogance that makes it very clear. he's married the message from the middle class, he's got work to do, he's going to get it done, and this fight for those

middle class americans out there to continue on in our economy has just started. tonight in our survey, i asked, do you trust republicans to protect the middle class tax cuts? 3% of you said yes, 97% of you said no. coming up, ohio republicans push an extreme agenda against the will of the voters. and ohio state senator nina turner joins me to set the record straight. stay with us. we're coming right back. those surprising little things she does still make you take notice. there are a million reasons why. but your erectile dysfunction

that could be a question of blood flow. cialis for daily use helps you be ready anytime the moment's right. you can be more confident in your ability to be ready. and the same cialis is the only daily ed tablet approved to treat ed and symptoms of bph, like needing to go frequently or urgently. tell your doctor about all your medical conditions and medications, and ask if your heart is healthy enough for sexual activity. do not take cialis if you take nitrates for chest pain, as this may cause an unsafe drop in blood pressure. do not drink alcohol in excess with cialis. side effects may include headache, upset stomach, delayed backache or muscle ache. to avoid long-term injury, seek immediate medical help for an erection lasting more than four hours. if you have any sudden decrease or loss in hearing or vision, or if you have any allergic reactions such as rash, hives, swelling of the lips, tongue or throat, or difficulty breathing or swallowing, stop taking cialis and get medical help right away. ask your doctor about cialis for daily use and a 30-tablet free trial.

and in the big finish tonight, ohio republicans are

pushing an extremist agenda, just one week after an election in which voters re-elected president obama and reaffirmed progressive ideals. well, they didn't get the memo in ohio. today, a house committee approved a bill to essentially defund planned parenthood. house bill 298 passed on a party line vote, and it will strip $1.7 million from planned parenthood. nearly 100,000 women in the state use planned parenthood, mostly for preventative care and birth control. every single medical professional in the state testified against the bill. at a news conference opposing the measure, ohio state senator nina turner wore a t-shirt, offering a different meaning for gop. there's a closer shot of the t-shirt. so you get the picture. it's not just about planned parenthood. ohio republicans also want to revive the so-called heartbeat bill. which would unconstitutionally ban all abortions after a fetal heartbeat is detected. on election day, 56% of ohioans

say they believe abortions should be legal all or most of the time. joining me again tonight is ohio state senator, nina turner. senator, great to have you with us tonight. i guess your t-shirt says it all. what the heck is going on in ohio? they just haven't got the message. is this going to pass, to defund planned parenthood? >> it will, ed. unless god himself comes down here, and even that, i'm not so sure. you know, the gop will not be satisfied until women are barefoot, pregnant, and back home by 5:00 p.m. to cook dinner. and as one of my tweeter fans put, back in the binders. you know, it makes absolutely no sense. they don't want women to have any choices or any voices. this is not about whether somebody is pro-abortion or pro-choice. this is about whether or not will have the preventative care, services that they deserve and they need. this is about our sisters, our daughters, our mothers, our aunts.

and an ideology that has gone absolutely wrong. ed, i've said it many times before. i am absolutely, unequivocally convinced that the republicans have lost their ever-loving minds. >> what about governor kasich? is his hands on this too? where does he stand? >> well, you know, ed, you know, i saw information that the governor met with the gop to talk the lame duck agenda. i'm not so sure whether or not they mentioned this to him or not. the fact of the matter is, he does know now, and he has not said anything up until this point, but this is about an extremist agenda being pushed by the gop legislature, namely in the ohio house. and as you mentioned in your opening about the so-called heartbeat bill, that would effectively make roe v. wade not the law of the land in the state of ohio, which is unconstitutional, and even if a woman is dying, she could not have an abortion in the state if

it passes. it is not the heartbeat bill, it is the heartless bill. and we're sick and tired of men trying to make women second class citizens in this state and in this nation. and i hope that all folks are outraged by this, ed. this is immoral to take services away from poor women, young women, african-american, latino, asian. you just name it. women are not second class citizens and we are not extensions of children. we are grown women and we know how to make decisions when it comes to our own bodies. >> nina, i understand that you're considering running for secretary of state of ohio to replace john huested in 2004. is that correct? >> well, i am considering that ed. we will see. but ohioans need not only state legislators who will stand up for their rights, but they also need to have a secretary of state who understands that voting in this state has nothing to do what your party affiliation is. it is a fundamental right and it should be protected by the secretary of state, not abridged.